Research suggests car buyers will be increasingly willing to forego the money-saving ‘dealership haggle’ in return for the heightened convenience of buying online, says Holden.

The brand on Monday announced a click-and-collect online retail model to be piloted in Melbourne, in partnership with its dealers, walking buyers from research to delivery of their wheels, with finance and trade-ins sorted on the way.

Modelling suggests that 30 per cent of consumers are already willing to buy a car online - particularly among younger demographics - and that this proportion will only grow.

The scheme will see dealers retained as the point-of-contact (contrasting it to, say, Tesla), and they will sort delivery and servicing, meaning they won’t be cut out of the process entirely.

Indeed, the pilot could see dealer foot traffic fall to more sustainable levels at peak times, through the initial take-up of online buying is expected to start low. In time, there may be fewer sales jobs, but it’s early days.

One obvious downside for buyers (though naturally not for Holden and its franchise partners) is the lack of scope for haggling on purchase price. In time, a system where franchise dealers can ‘bid’ for a customer by matching or bettering one another’s offers is expected to emerge, but for now it’s pay-as-you-see.

“The research would say, people are prepared to pay a no-haggle price [in return] for convenience,” Bernhard said.

Does a projected growth in online retail mean people don’t care about test drives anymore? You may recall that Holden is commendably offering 24-hour test drives for buyers, a scheme it calls the ‘Take Your Time Test Drive’.

“That’s a small subset…” Bernhard said. “We still think test drives are a critical element.

Holden also leads in the ride-sharing space with its GM Maven service, and will soon start to roll out its OnStar subscription suite, bringing a 4G WiFi hotspot link to the car, an ability to locate the vehicle, remotely start it, perform remote diagnostics, and provide emergency call assist.